GERMANY:
DEVELOPMENT OF DICTATORSHIP, 1918-45
TOPICS:
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC AND ITS EARLY
PROBLEMS:
• The abdication of the Kaiser and the German Revolution of 1918-19
• The strengths and weaknesses of the new Republic and its constitution
• Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles
• Challenges from Right and Left, including Kapp Putsch and Spartacists
• French occupation of the Ruhr. Causes and effects of hyperinflation
THE RECORVERY OF GERMANY 1924 – 29:
• The work of Stresemann, Rentenmark, Dawes and Young Plans, US loans and
the recovery of the German economy
• Successes abroad – League of nations, Locarno Treaties and Kellogg-Briand
Pact
THE RISE OF HITLER AND THE NAZIS TO JANUARY 1933:
• Hitler and the German Worker’s Party
• Changes to the party (1920 – 22)
• Causes, events and the results of Munich Putsch (1923)
• Reorganization of the Party (1924 – 28)
• Impact of the Great Depression
• The role of the SA
• Nazi methods to win support
• Events of 1923 to January 1933, including the roles of von Papen, von
Schleicher and von Hindenburg
NAZI GERMANY 1933 – 39:
• Setting up Nazi dictatorship through the Reichstag Fire, Enabling Act, Night of
the Long Knives and Hitler as Führer
• Methods of Nazi control and the extent to which they were successful,
including the police state, censorship, and propaganda
• Nazi policies towards education, women, the young, churches and their impact
• Nazi racial policies and increasing persecution of Jews
• Policies to reduce unemployment and their impact
• The Labour Service, the Labour Front and Strength Through Joy
GERMANY AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES DURING THE
SECOND WORLD WAR:
,• Nazi policies towards the Jew, including ghettos, death squads and the Final
Solution
• The Home Front, including changing role of women, ‘total war’, rationing and
the effects of allied bombing
• The growth of opposition to Hitler, including the Edelweiss Pirates, the White
Rose Group and the July Bomb Plot (1944)
• Hitler’s death and the end of the Third Reich
2
, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
AND ITS EARLY PROBLEMS:
THE ABDICATION OF THE KAISER/ CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION:
• WORLD WAR ONE (1914 – 18) had caused terrible SUFFERING – there was
low domestic production as well as blocked ports (by allies) which led to food
shortages
• The RUSSIAN REVOLUTION (led by LENIN in 1917) made many Germans
want to REPLACE THE UNDEMOCRATIC rule of the Kaiser by councils
• Germany was promised a short war – the war lasted 4 years
o Germany were forced to retreat – they faced MILITARY OCCUPATION
o The KAISER was forced ABDICATE by allies but he did not – in KIEL
(late October) there was an uprising of soldiers and sailors who were
forced to fight for Germany- this was followed by many other protests
o People no longer listened to the Kaiser and instead formed their won
workers’ councils
• 9TH NOVEMBER 1918 – the Kaiser is blamed for the war and FORCED TO
ABDICATE by the angry German citizens
• 10TH NOVEMBER 1918 – a new republic is set up by EBERT
• 11TH NOVEMBER 1918 – armistice was signed and agreed
THE NEW WEIMAR REPUBLIC 1918:
• A democratic experiment, first DEMOCRACY in Germany called the
WEIMAR REPUBLIC – previously an AUTHORITARIAN STATE led by the
Kaiser
• People were able to VOTE – parties/new ideologies emerged – both men and
women had an input into how society was run
• It marked a new start for the people (e.g. free speech, freedom, equality)
o EBERT was the ‘push’ of the government – he hoped Germany would be
treated less harshly in the future
o The Republic had enemies – both rights and left wing
o Positions included:
- CHANCELLOR – head of the government, can pass laws
- PRESIDENT – head of state, had access to article 48,
chancellor elector, needs to be elected
- REICHSTAG – dominant house
3
, STENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF WEIMAR:
• STRENGTHS:
o A strong presidents could PROTECT the country when in need
o All people had the same RIGHTS and were able to VOTE in elections
o People were IN CONTROL of the chancellor – Germany was run by it’s
RUN BY IT’S CITIZENS
o All parties where votes were received were represented due to
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (meant amount of seat
depended on number of votes – all parties could have seats)
o ARTICLE 48 could be used in times of civil unrest (Article 48 allowed
the disabling of government by the president without Reichstag approval)
o A FEDERAL SYSTEM meant every state had a local government
• WEAKNESSES:
o The president can destroy democracy (article 48) and dismiss the
democratic rule in place
o Proportional representation meant main political parties found it
difficult to ever achieve a majority – A COALITION
GOVERNEMENT was weak and unstable
o Due to the variety of parties, it was DIFFICULT TO MAKE QUICK
AND DECISIVE DECISIONS
REACTIONS TO THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES:
• A treaty at the end of WORLD WAR ONE. Terms were to form a peace treaty.
Terms included:
o WAR GUILT CAUSE – this blamed the war on Germany – reparations
of 136,000 million marks, the military was totally stripped down to the
bare minimum, territory such as Alsace-Lorraine (to France), Prussia (to
Poland) and Eupen (to Belgium) were returned or taken
• Germans were outraged at the HARSHNESS OF THE TREATY – they were
forced to accept otherwise faced war
• The terms were UNFAIR AND DELIBERATELY HUMILIATING for
Germany
o Germany had been taken advantage of and blamed for others damage due
to their weak positions
o German citizens grew angry and felt they had been further weakened
o Politicians who signed the treaty were called the NOVEMBER
CRIMINALS
4
DEVELOPMENT OF DICTATORSHIP, 1918-45
TOPICS:
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC AND ITS EARLY
PROBLEMS:
• The abdication of the Kaiser and the German Revolution of 1918-19
• The strengths and weaknesses of the new Republic and its constitution
• Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles
• Challenges from Right and Left, including Kapp Putsch and Spartacists
• French occupation of the Ruhr. Causes and effects of hyperinflation
THE RECORVERY OF GERMANY 1924 – 29:
• The work of Stresemann, Rentenmark, Dawes and Young Plans, US loans and
the recovery of the German economy
• Successes abroad – League of nations, Locarno Treaties and Kellogg-Briand
Pact
THE RISE OF HITLER AND THE NAZIS TO JANUARY 1933:
• Hitler and the German Worker’s Party
• Changes to the party (1920 – 22)
• Causes, events and the results of Munich Putsch (1923)
• Reorganization of the Party (1924 – 28)
• Impact of the Great Depression
• The role of the SA
• Nazi methods to win support
• Events of 1923 to January 1933, including the roles of von Papen, von
Schleicher and von Hindenburg
NAZI GERMANY 1933 – 39:
• Setting up Nazi dictatorship through the Reichstag Fire, Enabling Act, Night of
the Long Knives and Hitler as Führer
• Methods of Nazi control and the extent to which they were successful,
including the police state, censorship, and propaganda
• Nazi policies towards education, women, the young, churches and their impact
• Nazi racial policies and increasing persecution of Jews
• Policies to reduce unemployment and their impact
• The Labour Service, the Labour Front and Strength Through Joy
GERMANY AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES DURING THE
SECOND WORLD WAR:
,• Nazi policies towards the Jew, including ghettos, death squads and the Final
Solution
• The Home Front, including changing role of women, ‘total war’, rationing and
the effects of allied bombing
• The growth of opposition to Hitler, including the Edelweiss Pirates, the White
Rose Group and the July Bomb Plot (1944)
• Hitler’s death and the end of the Third Reich
2
, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
AND ITS EARLY PROBLEMS:
THE ABDICATION OF THE KAISER/ CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION:
• WORLD WAR ONE (1914 – 18) had caused terrible SUFFERING – there was
low domestic production as well as blocked ports (by allies) which led to food
shortages
• The RUSSIAN REVOLUTION (led by LENIN in 1917) made many Germans
want to REPLACE THE UNDEMOCRATIC rule of the Kaiser by councils
• Germany was promised a short war – the war lasted 4 years
o Germany were forced to retreat – they faced MILITARY OCCUPATION
o The KAISER was forced ABDICATE by allies but he did not – in KIEL
(late October) there was an uprising of soldiers and sailors who were
forced to fight for Germany- this was followed by many other protests
o People no longer listened to the Kaiser and instead formed their won
workers’ councils
• 9TH NOVEMBER 1918 – the Kaiser is blamed for the war and FORCED TO
ABDICATE by the angry German citizens
• 10TH NOVEMBER 1918 – a new republic is set up by EBERT
• 11TH NOVEMBER 1918 – armistice was signed and agreed
THE NEW WEIMAR REPUBLIC 1918:
• A democratic experiment, first DEMOCRACY in Germany called the
WEIMAR REPUBLIC – previously an AUTHORITARIAN STATE led by the
Kaiser
• People were able to VOTE – parties/new ideologies emerged – both men and
women had an input into how society was run
• It marked a new start for the people (e.g. free speech, freedom, equality)
o EBERT was the ‘push’ of the government – he hoped Germany would be
treated less harshly in the future
o The Republic had enemies – both rights and left wing
o Positions included:
- CHANCELLOR – head of the government, can pass laws
- PRESIDENT – head of state, had access to article 48,
chancellor elector, needs to be elected
- REICHSTAG – dominant house
3
, STENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF WEIMAR:
• STRENGTHS:
o A strong presidents could PROTECT the country when in need
o All people had the same RIGHTS and were able to VOTE in elections
o People were IN CONTROL of the chancellor – Germany was run by it’s
RUN BY IT’S CITIZENS
o All parties where votes were received were represented due to
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (meant amount of seat
depended on number of votes – all parties could have seats)
o ARTICLE 48 could be used in times of civil unrest (Article 48 allowed
the disabling of government by the president without Reichstag approval)
o A FEDERAL SYSTEM meant every state had a local government
• WEAKNESSES:
o The president can destroy democracy (article 48) and dismiss the
democratic rule in place
o Proportional representation meant main political parties found it
difficult to ever achieve a majority – A COALITION
GOVERNEMENT was weak and unstable
o Due to the variety of parties, it was DIFFICULT TO MAKE QUICK
AND DECISIVE DECISIONS
REACTIONS TO THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES:
• A treaty at the end of WORLD WAR ONE. Terms were to form a peace treaty.
Terms included:
o WAR GUILT CAUSE – this blamed the war on Germany – reparations
of 136,000 million marks, the military was totally stripped down to the
bare minimum, territory such as Alsace-Lorraine (to France), Prussia (to
Poland) and Eupen (to Belgium) were returned or taken
• Germans were outraged at the HARSHNESS OF THE TREATY – they were
forced to accept otherwise faced war
• The terms were UNFAIR AND DELIBERATELY HUMILIATING for
Germany
o Germany had been taken advantage of and blamed for others damage due
to their weak positions
o German citizens grew angry and felt they had been further weakened
o Politicians who signed the treaty were called the NOVEMBER
CRIMINALS
4
